Method and system for sourcing and editing live video

ABSTRACT

A method for communication is described. The method includes providing a channel configured for collecting and editing video associated with a topic. The method includes identifying a plurality of potential parties connected with the topic. The method includes pushing a plurality of invitations to the plurality of potential parties, wherein each invitation comprises a request to join the channel. The method includes receiving a plurality of video feeds on the channel from a plurality of contributors each accepting a corresponding invitation. The method includes editing the plurality of video feeds to generate an edited video.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/018,095 filed on Sep. 4, 2013, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,747,946, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/863,782, filed Aug. 8, 2013, under35 U.S.C. § 119(e), entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SOURCING AND EDITINGLIVE VIDEO,” the disclosures of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Traditional non-professional methods for distributing informationrelated to news worthy events involved a witness viewing the event, andgenerating content related to that event. Publication of that contentcould be through paper (e.g., newspaper, magazines, etc.), or throughsoft copies (e.g., blogging, texting, tweeting on Twitter, or otherindividualized communication methods). The initial distribution ofcontent would be limited to a small number of viewers. Expandeddistribution would occur after some time when a media (e.g., news,entertainment, etc.) editor picks up the original story for widerdistribution across its own distribution network (e.g., media website,cable, television, twitter, etc.).

The above described method for reporting or distributing a story ischaracterized by a single feed broadcasted over a single channel, or asingle user/single distribution channel. That is, one story is collectedover a single feed, edited, and distributed to the public. Moreover, thevideo that is distributed is no longer live and is susceptible tobecoming stale news.

It would be beneficial to distribute information about a news worthyevent in real time.

SUMMARY

In embodiments of the present invention, a computer implemented methodfor communication is described. The method includes providing a channelconfigured for collecting and editing video, wherein the video isassociated with a topic. The method includes receiving a plurality ofvideo feeds on the channel, wherein the video feeds are each associatedwith the topic. The method includes editing the plurality of video feedsto generate an edited video for distribution.

In other embodiments of the present invention, a computer implementedmethod for communication is described. The method includes providing achannel configured for collecting and editing video, wherein the videois associated with a topic. The method includes identifying a pluralityof potential parties connected with the topic, such as witnesses to anews worthy event. The method includes pushing a plurality ofinvitations to the plurality of potential parties. Each invitationincludes a request to join the channel, wherein by joining a contributorstreams live video back to the channel. The method includes receiving aplurality of video feeds on the channel from a plurality ofcontributors, each of which accepts a corresponding invitation. Themethod includes editing of the plurality of video feeds to generate anedited video including one of the following elements: live video, storedvideo, and additional content comprising stored video, and supplementalinformation (e.g., titles, overlays, information bars, static images,etc.).

In still other embodiments, a system for communication is described. Thesystem includes a channel creation module configured to provide achannel used to collect and edit videos associated with a topic. Thesystem includes an invitation module configured for identifying aplurality of potential parties connected with the topic and pushing aplurality of invitations to the plurality of potential parties. Morespecifically, each of the invitations includes a request to join thechannel. The system also includes a collection module configured forreceiving a plurality of video feeds on the channel from a plurality ofcontributors each accepting a corresponding invitation. The systemincludes an editing module configured for editing the plurality of videofeeds and generating an edited video.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthis specification and in which like numerals depict like elements,illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with thedescription, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary computer system suitablefor implementing the present methods, in accordance with one embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of witnesses capturing multiple viewpoints ofa live event or associated events, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a live video feed of an event available tothe public over a media distribution channel, wherein the displayedvideo feed was selected from a plurality of video feeds collected over achannel and capturing different viewpoints of a live event or associatedevents, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a system configured for sourcing, editing,distributing, and storing live video associated with a topic (e.g., anevent or associated events), in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5A is a flow diagram illustrating a method for sourcing, editing,distributing, and storing live video associated with a topic, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a flow diagram illustrating a computer implemented method foridentifying potential sources of video, sending invitations to thosesources to participate in a channel, and the editing of received videosfor purposes of distribution and storage, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the process for setting up a channelconfigured for sourcing, editing, and distributing live video of anevent or associated events, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the process used for a contributor to joina channel, wherein the channel provides the framework for the sourcing,editing, and distribution of multiple live video feeds of an event orassociated events,

FIG. 8 is an illustration of multiple live video streams or feeds fromcontributors viewing a live event or associated events, and theselection of one of the feeds for distribution, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of multiple witnesses to a single, live eventand the sourcing, editing, and distribution of the live video feeds ofcontributing witnesses, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a plurality of live and stored video feedsthat is edited to generate an edited video, in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of multiple editors sharing the raw videofootage as collected by a channel creator, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. While described in conjunction with theseembodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limitthe disclosure to these embodiments. On the contrary, the disclosure isintended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which maybe included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined bythe appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed descriptionof the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure.However, it will be understood that the present disclosure may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knownmethods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described indetail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the presentdisclosure.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions that follow are presented interms of procedures, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolicrepresentations of operations on data bits within a computer memory.These descriptions and representations are the means used by thoseskilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey thesubstance of their work to others skilled in the art. In the presentapplication, a procedure, logic block, process, or the like, isconceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructionsleading to a desired result. The steps are those utilizing physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwisemanipulated in a computer system. It has proven convenient at times,principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals astransactions, bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, samples,pixels, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present disclosure,discussions utilizing terms such as “capturing,” “receiving,” “sending,”“collecting,” “distributing,” or the like, (e.g., in flow charts 500Aand 500B of FIGS. 5A and 5B, respectively) refer to actions andprocesses of a computer system or similar electronic computing device orprocessor (e.g., system 100). The computer system or similar electroniccomputing device manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system memories, registersor other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Throughout certain methods are discussed in relation to flow charts. Forexample, FIGS. 5A and 5B are flow charts of examples ofcomputer-implemented methods for implementing the sourcing, editing,distributing, and storing of video feeds related to a topic (e.g., alive event or associated events, a political event, a mass event spreadover a geographic area, a sporting event, a theme, etc.), according toone embodiment of the present invention. Although specific steps aredisclosed in the flowchart, such steps are exemplary. That is,embodiments of the present invention are well-suited to performingvarious other steps or variations of the steps recited in the flowchart.

Other embodiments described herein may be discussed in the generalcontext of computer-executable instructions residing on some form ofcomputer-readable storage medium, such as program modules, executed byone or more computers or other devices. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer-readable storage media may comprise non-transitorycomputer storage media and communication media. Generally, programmodules include routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may becombined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks(DVDs) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium that can be used to store the desired information and that canaccessed to retrieve that information.

Communication media can embody computer-executable instructions, datastructures, and program modules, and includes any information deliverymedia. By way of example, and not limitation, communication mediaincludes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection,and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared andother wireless media. Combinations of any of the above can also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a computing system 100capable of implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Computingsystem 100 broadly represents any single or multi-processor computingdevice or system capable of executing computer-readable instructions.Examples of computing system 100 include, without limitation,workstations, laptops, client-side terminals, servers, distributedcomputing systems, handheld devices, or any other computing system ordevice. In its most basic configuration, computing system 100 mayinclude at least one processor 110 and a system memory 140.

Both the central processing unit (CPU) 110 and the graphics processingunit (GPU) 120 are coupled to memory 140. System memory 140 generallyrepresents any type or form of volatile or non-volatile storage deviceor medium capable of storing data and/or other computer-readableinstructions. Examples of system memory 140 include, without limitation,RAM, ROM, flash memory, or any other suitable memory device. In theexample of FIG. 1, memory 140 is a shared memory, whereby the memorystores instructions and data for both the CPU 110 and the GPU 120.Alternatively, there may be separate memories dedicated to the CPU 110and the GPU 120, respectively. The memory can include a frame buffer forstoring pixel data that drives a display screen 130.

The system 100 includes a user interface 160 that, in oneimplementation, includes an on-screen cursor control device. The userinterface may include a keyboard, a mouse, and/or a touch screen device(a touchpad). System 100 also includes an access, sourcing, and editingmodule 460 that is configured for sourcing, editing, and distributing aplurality of video feeds. Module 460 is further described in FIG. 4below.

CPU 110 and/or GPU 120 generally represent any type or form ofprocessing unit capable of processing data or interpreting and executinginstructions. In certain embodiments, processors 110 and/or 120 mayreceive instructions from a software application or hardware module.These instructions may cause processors 110 and/or 120 to perform thefunctions of one or more of the example embodiments described and/orillustrated herein. For example, processors 110 and/or 120 may performand/or be a means for performing, either alone or in combination withother elements, one or more of the monitoring, determining, gating, anddetecting, or the like described herein. Processors 110 and/or 120 mayalso perform and/or be a means for performing any other steps, methods,or processes described and/or illustrated herein.

In some embodiments, the computer-readable medium containing a computerprogram may be loaded into computing system 100. All or a portion of thecomputer program stored on the computer-readable medium may then bestored in system memory 140 and/or various portions of storage devices.When executed by processors 110 and/or 120, a computer program loadedinto computing system 100 may cause processor 110 and/or 120 to performand/or be a means for performing the functions of the exampleembodiments described and/or illustrated herein. Additionally oralternatively, the example embodiments described and/or illustratedherein may be implemented in firmware and/or hardware.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention provide for theshooting, requesting, directing, and storing of live video from multipleangles, wherein each video is associated with a particular topic. Inthat manner, contributors can capture live video from their handhelddevices of a live event, stream the live video to a channel, wherein thehost/editor controlling the channel can edit the live video (e.g.,switch between live video feeds) to produce an edited video thatincludes a live streaming video taken from contributors witnessing theevent. Other embodiments provide for the creation of a channelconfigured to collect live video from invited contributors. That is,contributors are invited to join and stream video (e.g., live or stored)to a channel, for example in one embodiment by sharing a channel key, orin another embodiment by pushing push requests to users participating ina third party social network (e.g., Twitter users). In still otherembodiments, contributors start streaming video to the channel forexample by following a uniform resource locator (URL) associated withthe channel, such that the contributors are able to stream withoutneeding to install a native application, or by selecting a menu item ona native application installed on their communication device. In stillother embodiments, the channel creator is able to direct contributorsthrough a communications interface (e.g., chat room, text, SMS, etc.),and switch between feeds to produce edited video for distribution.

Embodiments of the present invention are described within the context ofcapturing live video feeds associated with a topic, wherein the topicincludes live events, related or associated events, occurrences tied toa theme, occurrences related to an affinity group having a sharedinterest or common goal. Other embodiments are well suited to capturingvideo that is not live, such as, stored video.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of potentially news worthy event, andwitnesses who are present at the event and are associated with multipleviewpoints of the event, wherein the witnesses may become contributorsto a channel streaming live video of the event, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure. For example, related to eventsoccurring in various Middle East countries around 2011-13, an ArabSpring event is occurring in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. Asshown in FIG. 2, multiple witnesses to the event are present at theevent, such as witnesses 1-N, identified as W1-W-N. More particularly,some of the witnesses may be capturing live video on their smartphonesof the event. As shown in FIG. 2, two witnesses (W-1 and W-25) arecapturing live video of an individual 210 shown celebrating withoutstretched arms. For instance, W-1 is capturing live video over device220, and W-2 is capturing live video over device 230. These witnessesmay be capturing video for personal use, or for later uploading tosocial networking site, or for streaming to a channel in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. Other witnesses may potentiallystart capturing live video when requested, as described in embodimentsof the present invention. As such, one or more witnesses may capture anddownload videos to a distribution, editing and storage channel, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide for theinvitation, production and editing of live video taken from multipleangles by pushing requests to those witnesses or persons related to atopic. The topic may include any event, or associated events. The topicmay include occurrences relating to a theme that revolve around one ormore events. The topic may include occurrences related to an affinitygroup, wherein the group is formed around a shared interest or goal.

For instance, videos related to a topic may include fans followingBand-X on a cross-county tour. At a particular time and date, relatedvideos may be taken by fans traveling to the next concert. As such,embodiments of the present invention are able to capture live videofeeds at that time, aggregate those feeds, and provide a real-timeglimpse into the lives of the fans that are scattered across the countrybut traveling to one destination. In another implementation, videos arecollected for a casting or movie production. For instance, a topic mayinclude one or more scenes from a movie generated through socialnetworking. The collected video may follow a script known to thecontributors of one or more scenes of the video. Once collected, thevideo is edited to include mixing and switching between the live videosto generate an edited video suitable for distribution on a viewingchannel.

In embodiments, those witnesses capturing video may be requested tostream their video to a channel. Additionally, witnesses that aredetermined to be close to or present at the event, or persons identifiedas being related to the event or topic may be requested to startstreaming video to the channel.

Embodiments of the present invention are configured to capture livevideo associated with a topic. For example, the live video may becaptured by one or more witnesses of a live event (e.g., Tahrir Squaredemonstration), or of associated events, or the live video may follow aparticular theme. The live video is then delivered to a channel by eachof the contributors capturing the live video. For example, the video maybe streamed to a channel, as accessed through a URL. In another example,the video may start streaming through a channel as facilitated by anative application that is loaded on the contributor's device. Thecaptured video is edited, such as by mixing the live video, switchingthe live video, adding information to the live video, inserting storedvideo (e.g., instructional pieces) in between the live video feeds togenerate an edited video. The edited video is distributed across aviewing channel, such that viewers are able to view the edited video.For instance, a channel creator is interested in capturing video fromthe Tahrir demonstration, and pushes requests to identified witnesseswho are at or near the event, or somehow related to the event toparticipate in streaming live video of the event back to a channel.

Once a witness accepts an invitation to join a channel, that witnessbecomes a contributor to that channel. A contributor allows the channelcreator to control their video capturing device, so that live video isstreamed back to the channel for collection and further editing bothduring the event and after the event. That is, the contributor, as wellas other contributors give up control over their corresponding mediacapturing devices (e.g., audio, video, images, graphics, 3D, 4D, etc.),such that corresponding live video is streamed to the channel over oneor more communication and/or network interfaces. In one embodiment, acontributor streams live video by following a URL pointing to a webaddress. In another embodiment, a contributor streams live video byselecting a menu item in a native application present on his or herdevice. In still another embodiment, a contributor begins to stream livevideo by accepting a push or pushed request. In the particular case ofusing a URL, because the contributor communicates through theirconnection with a web site associated with a URL, the contributor doesnot need to install a native application, nor does the contributor haveto set up an account with any third party service, nor does thecontributor have to go through a verification of an account. In thatmanner, once the contributor is verified (e.g., presenting the properchannel identifier, has a proper third party handle, etc.), live videois streamed back to the channel

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a live video feed of an event (e.g.,flooding disaster) available to the public over a media distributionchannel, wherein the displayed video feed was selected from a pluralityof video feeds collected over a channel and capturing differentviewpoints of a live event or associated events, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, a host, channelcreator, or editor of the channel is able to direct contributors througha communication interface (e.g., instant messaging, text, communicationchannel, chat, etc.). The communication interface may provideuni-directional or bi-directional communication, either through aone-to-one or one-to many configuration. In that manner, the channelcreator is able to provide a particular contributor with specificinstructions, such as, turn camera in a certain direction, capture aninterview with another witness, zoom in, etc.). In one embodiment, thecommunication interface configured to provide instructions is includedwithin the network interface collecting video feeds, and in anotherembodiment, the communication interface is separate from the networkinterface.

In addition, as the channel creator of the channel is aggregating livevideo feeds, the channel creator is also able to edit the live videofeeds. In one embodiment, the channel creator is able to select one ofthe live video feeds for distribution. In another embodiment, thechannel creator is able to switch between the live video feeds to createan edited video feed. In still another embodiment, the editor is able toperform further editing functions on the edited video feed. Forinstance, stored video is inserted before, after, or in between livevideo or other content. Further, in some implementations, the editingincludes inserting additional content before, after, or in between livevideo or other content (e.g., supplemental information to includetextual information, title, video feeds from third party sources,graphical images, etc. As such, the final, edited video is polished, andsuitable for distribution. For instance, embodiments of the presentinvention are particularly suitable for sourcing, editing, distributing,and storing breaking stories (e.g., news, entertainment, sportingevents, etc.).

In one implementation, the selected and edited video is provided as anembedded video that can be embedded in various media (e.g., web page,blog, image, frame, etc.) but hosted by a third party. In that manner,the embedded video (e.g., an in-line or i-frame) allows the edited videofeed to be accessed through another document (e.g., website, blog,etc.). That is, the channel creator generates the edited video and isable to provide a link back to the edited video so that other users mayuse that edited video in their own content.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a system 400 configured for sourcing, editing,distributing, and storing live video of an event or associated events,in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, aplurality of video feeds is captured by a plurality of video capturingdevices 410 (e.g., 410A-N). Each of the video capturing devices isassociated with a contributor (e.g., user or witness) that is associatedwith a corresponding video capturing device. For instance, at an event(e.g., live event), associated events, or events tied by a theme,multiple contributors have the capability of capturing live video (e.g.,through their associated smartphones). Embodiments of the presentinvention are capable of leveraging the plurality of live videos togenerate an edited video suitable for distribution. For example, system400 is capable of capturing multiple angles and viewpoints of videosrelated to a topic (e.g., videos of a particular event, such as ArabSpring uprising, political event, sporting event, etc.), collect themfor filtering, direct the capturing of the video content, edit thecaptured and streamed video to generate a polished video product,distribute the edited video, and store the edited video as well as thecollected video feeds. As such, embodiments provide an editing tool fora channel creator to generate the edited video and/or edited video, andalso provide for a distribution channel by which viewers are able toview the edited video, rather than trying to sift through the hundredsand thousands of video feeds randomly capturing the event. That is,embodiments of the present invention collates the multiple video feeds(live or stored) that are available through one or more distributionservices and/or platforms (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, internet,texting, a contributor to the channel, etc.).

In one embodiment, contributors provide live video associated with atopic back to a channel. The contributors are identified as beingrelated to the topic. For instance, a contributor satisfies at least onecriteria that is related to the topic. As an example, a criteria mayinclude a geographic area of interest. As such, a potential party isidentified as being within the geographic area of interest, and as suchan invitation to join the channel is delivered to that potential party.Upon acceptance, the potential party becomes a contributor, and beginsto stream live video back to the channel. In another example, a criteriamay include determining that a potential party has delivered acommunication that is related to the topic. As such, an invitation tojoin the channel is also delivered to the party making thatcommunication. Other criteria is contemplate and supported byembodiments of the present invention.

The contributors stream their live video to a back-end server 460through a communication network 450 (e.g., internet, telephone network,mobile phone network, or a combination, etc.). The back-end server 460provides a framework for the sourcing and editing of the video feeds(e.g., live). For instance, the sourcing and editing framework 460includes a channel creation module 461 that is configured for providinga channel used to collect and edit videos associated with a topic,wherein the topic includes an event or related events, occurrencesrelated to a theme, occurrences related to an affinity group, etc., aspreviously described. The framework 460 includes acommunication/invitation module 462 that is configured for invitingpotential witnesses to become contributors to the channel. Inparticular, the invitation module is configured for identifying aplurality of potential parties connected with the topic and pushing aplurality of invitations to the plurality of potential parties. Each ofthe invitations comprises a request to join and stream live video backto the channel. Framework 460 also includes a collecting module 464configured for the collection of the live video feeds from each of thecontributors. That is, the collecting module 464 is configured forreceiving a plurality of video feeds on the channel from a plurality ofcontributors, wherein each contributor accepts a correspondinginvitation.

Framework 460 also includes an authentication module 466 forauthenticating the contributors and/or live video feeds. For example, inone implementation the authentication module 466 is able to authenticatea contributor through a third party source (such as, through a Twitteraccount). In another implementation, another layer of authentication isprovided by verifying that the location of the contributor matches or isnear the location of a particular event. In still anotherimplementation, another layer of authentication is provided by verifyingthat the captured video is related to other video previously verified tobe capturing images of the event. Additional human based authenticationis provided by the editor or channel creator through the selection of acontributor's video feed for distribution.

Framework 460 also includes an editing module 468 configured for editingof the plurality of captured and streamed feed, and generating an editedvideo. In still other embodiments, editing module 468 is configured toedit and generate any type of media content, such that the final productincludes portions comprising one or more media formats. Editing mayinclude the selection of one or more live or stored video feeds insequential order. This includes mixing and/or switching between livevideo feeds. For instance, the switching module 468A is configured tomix and/or switch live video feeds so that a live video feed is insertedbefore, after, or in between live video and/or additional content. Inaddition, editing may include injecting additional content before,after, or in between the live video and/or other content. For instance,the additional content includes maps, images, title screen, otherinformational images, textual information, overlaid information, and/oradditional information.

The editing module 468 includes a post event editing/production module468B that is configured for providing access to the plurality of videofeeds and the final, edited video that are stored. In this manner,post-production editing may be performed on the stored video forpurposes of generating a second media project suitable for personal useor for distribution.

Framework 460 also includes a distribution module 469 configured fordistributing the edited video to the public (e.g., through an i-frame,through a web site, through a broadcasting channel, through a viewingchannel, etc.). For instance, a viewing channel may be established inrelation to the contribution/editing channel for the distribution of thefinal, edited video to interested viewers. Additionally, the capturedlive feeds from the video capturing devices 410, as well as the editedvideo suitable for distribution are stored in storage 440.

FIG. 5A is a flow diagram 500A illustrating a computer implementedmethod for sourcing, editing, storing, and distributing live videorelated to a topic, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.In another embodiment, flow diagram 500A is implemented within acomputer system including a processor and memory coupled to theprocessor and having stored therein instructions that, if executed bythe computer system causes the system to execute a method for sourcing,editing, storing, and distributing live video related to a topic. Instill another embodiment, instructions for performing a method arestored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-executable instructions for causing a computer system toperform a method for sourcing, editing, storing, and distributing livevideo related to a topic. The method outlined in flow diagram 500A isimplementable by one or more components of the computer system 100 andsystem 400, including the storing and editing module 460.

At 510, the method includes providing a channel configured forcollecting a plurality of video feeds, wherein the video feeds areassociated with a topic. For instance, the plurality of video feeds arerelated by an event, such as, a demonstration, sporting event,performance, or any event that is of interest to the channel creatorand/or viewers. The plurality of video feeds may be associated with oneor more associated events, or to events related by a theme, or a themeassociated with an affinity group formed around a shared interest orcommon goal. For instance, the video feeds may be associated with anaffinity group centered on fans of Band-X. The video feeds may becapturing occurrences of those fans at various tour events as theyfollow Band-X on their cross-country tour. In another instance, thevideo feeds may be associated with a planned script or casting, suchthat the channel creator is capturing video feeds that are to be used ina short movie script or clip.

At 520, the method includes receiving the plurality of video feeds onthe channel. As previously described, once the contributors join, theirvideo feeds are streamed to the channel, for example by following a URL,or through an communication interface established by a nativeapplication, etc.

At 530, the method includes editing the plurality of video feeds togenerate an edited video feed. Any number of editing processes may beperformed. For instance, a sequence of videos, including one or moreportions of the plurality of live video feeds, is generated to beincluded as an edited video suitable for distribution. Further,additional content or material may be provided in association with thevideo feeds, such as, overlays, titles, stored video, static images,graphics, dynamic graphics, maps, images, other video feeds providedover third party media and distribution platforms, etc. This additionalmaterial may be stored information available for inclusion in the editedvideo. Still other independent material may also be provided, such as,introductory or explanatory video (e.g., stored video) that is joinedwith the edited videos. As a result, the final, edited video includesone or more of the following: portions of live video feeds, portions ofstored video feeds, additional content, etc.

In another embodiment, the collected video (e.g., live or stored) andfinal, edited video are stored. This stored information may be furtheredited in a post-event editing/production process (e.g., using theediting module 468 of FIG. 4) to generate a second edited video or mediaproject.

FIG. 5B is a flow diagram 500B illustrating a computer implementedmethod for identifying potential sources of video, sending invitationsto those sources to participate in a channel, and the editing ofreceived videos for purposes of distribution and storage, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present disclosure. In another embodiment,flow diagram 500B is implemented within a computer system including aprocessor and memory coupled to the processor and having stored thereininstructions that, if executed by the computer system causes the systemto execute a method for identifying potential sources of video, sendinginvitations to those sources to participate in a channel, and theediting of received videos for purposes of distribution and storage.

In still another embodiment, instructions for performing a method arestored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-executable instructions for causing a computer system toperform a method for identifying potential sources of video, sendinginvitations to those sources to participate in a channel, and theediting of received videos for purposes of distribution and storage. Themethod outlined in flow diagram 500B is implementable by one or morecomponents of the computer system 100 and system 400, including thestoring and editing module 460.

At 510, the method includes providing a channel configured forcollecting a plurality of video feeds associated with a topic. Thechannel is implemented through a URL in one embodiment, and allows forthe aggregation and collection of a plurality of video feeds fromdisparate sources and varying formats. In one embodiment, the videofeeds are transformed into a uniform format suitable for editing. Aspreviously described, the topic may include any related video feeds,such as, events, related events, occurrences related to theme,occurrences related to an affinity group, etc.

At 520, the method includes identifying a plurality of potential partiesconnected with the topic. Embodiments of the present invention are wellsuited to providing automated filtering of the selection of witnesses aspotential contributors. For instance, witnesses that are delivered arequest to join a channel may be selected based on various filteringcriteria. In particular, parties who are related to or have someconnection to the topic are identified as potential parties who want tojoin and stream live video back to the channel. For example, manywitnesses may be present at a news worth event. Those witnesses may beidentified as being at the event through many methodologies, such as, inone embodiment, the identified parties satisfies a criteria. Asexamples, a filter criteria may be geo-location, where a particularevent is occurring at location-X and the channel creator seeks forindividuals who are known to be at or near location-X. Based on thefilter criteria, those individuals are then selected to have a requestdelivered to join the channel.

For instance, a user of a social networking site providing for streamingof video feeds to channels may constantly update his or her location toa central server of the social network. As such, the social network mayinform a channel creator whose topic is related to events or an eventwithin a geographic area (e.g., 1 mile within Tahrir Square) that apotential party is within that geographic area. In another instance, thecriteria may be a person who is identified as having an affinity for oran interest in a topic (e.g., fan of Band X) based on user profile datacollected through one or multiple sources (e.g., social network userprofile, data mining profile, etc.). In another implementation, a partymay be identified as having delivered a message (e.g., through anetworking platform, such as, Twitter) related to the topic or event. Asan example, a party may be sending live text messages on a blog relatingthe events at Tahrir Square, that are of interest to the channelcreator. In still other implementations, one or more criteria must besatisfied to be identified as a potential party.

At 530, the method includes pushing a plurality of invitations to theplurality of potential parties. Each of the invitations includes arequest to join and stream live video to the channel. For instance, theinvitation may be through a text message, third party messagingplatform, direct phone call, email, or any suitable message formatcapable of delivering a request to join.

In one embodiment, the request includes a link back to the URL of thecontribution channel. When activated, the potential party iscommunicatively coupled to the URL without having a native applicationinstalled on their corresponding device. In that manner, joining thechannel and streaming live video back to the channel is accomplishedwithout use of the native application. In another embodiment, therequest is handled by a native application. As such, the potential partyhas a native application installed on his or her mobile device that isconfigured to recognize the request to join the channel, and tofacilitate that joining. In one implementation, the native applicationis executed in combination with a network interface (e.g., internet,phone network, data network, etc.) to provide for communication back tothe channel, which may be configured as a web page, or data node, etc.

At 540, the method includes receiving the plurality of video feeds onthe channel from a plurality of contributors each accepting acorresponding invitation. Specifically, focusing on one potential party,the method includes receiving from a first device an acceptance of afirst request to join. The acceptance is associated with a potentialparty that is now a contributor, and is referred to as the firstcontributor.

In one embodiment, the method includes authenticating the potentialparty as the first contributor. For instance, various layers may beimplemented for authenticating a contributor. At a first layer, thejoining party must correctly provide a channel identifier. Only afterproviding the correct identifier is the contributor authenticated. Atanother layer, the authentication is performed through a third party,such as, a third party social networking site. For example, acontributor may be identified as having a Twitter account, and as such,authentication is performed by verifying the authenticity of the Twitteraccount. At still another layer, once the video feed is being streamed,the content of that video stream may be compared against other verifiedcontent. If the content matches or is within the same scope (e.g.,geographic area, on topic, etc.), then the contributor is authenticated.On the other hand, if the content does not match, then the contributoris not authenticated.

Once authentication is successfully achieved, a request is delivered tothe device of the potential party as the first contributor. That is arequest may be delivered from the channel creator side to the deviceassociated with the first contributor, wherein permission to takecontrol of the media capturing module within the device is requested.Once the request is accepted, the media capturing module is instructedto begin capturing video and to stream it back to the channel, throughwhatever communication link is established between the device and thechannel. At that point, the live video delivered by the device isreceived back at the channel for purposes of editing and storage.

In one embodiment, when authentication is not successful, the associatedvideo feed is dropped. For instance, the first contributor may havesatisfied initial layers of authentication to join the channel and beginstreaming live video. However, another layer of authentication maydiscover that the live video is off topic, and as such, the contributoris no longer authenticated. In that case, the corresponding video feedis dropped from the channel.

At 550, the method includes editing the plurality of video feeds togenerate an edited video. As previously described, the edited video mayinclude one or more elements, including portions of live video, portionsof stored video, and additional content, such as, text, information,graphics, maps, title pages, instructional video, replayed videopreviously captured, etc.

For instance, the editing of video includes switching from a first videofeed to a second video feed. In one instance, the first and/or secondvideo feed comprises live video. In another instance, the first and/orsecond video feed comprises stored video. In still another instance, thefirst and/or second video feed comprises additional content, aspreviously described, such as, information, maps, titles, supplementalinformation, video obtained from a third party platform, etc.

In addition, automated editing of the channels may be performed, in oneembodiment. For instance, one video stream may be preferred over anothervideo stream based on selection criteria, including: strength ofcommunication signal, quality of video, quality of audio, reputation ofthe contributor, which contributor has been previously selected, whichcontributor is associated with a better video capturing device, etc.

The method includes providing a viewing channel for distribution of thefinal, edited stream. That is, the created channel includes a pair ofchannels, including a contributor channel and a viewing channel. Thecontributor channel is configured for the sourcing, editing, and storingof live video feeds. The viewing channel is configured for viewers toaccess and/or view the live video feed. Access may include using thestored material in such a manner to create another edited video projectthat comprises portions of the final, edited video, and the live videothat was collected and stored.

As such, over the distribution channel, the final, edited video is thendistributed to the public or viewing audience. For instance, in oneimplementation, the edited video is provided as an embedded video orframe (e.g., i-frame) for further distribution. For instance, anembedded link or tag may be included within third party content. Assuch, the method includes receiving a request to access the edited videovia a link or tag that is embedded within web content, for example. Theedited video is delivered to the requester for inclusion within or inconjunction with the web content. Still other embodiments provide fordistribution of the edited video through broadcast channels, on websites, or through any distribution channel.

In one embodiment, the distribution is controlled. For instance, theedited video may be distributed to one distribution channel givenexclusive rights (e.g., on a news worthy breaking story). On the otherhand, popular media may be distributed across multiple distributionchannels so that the brand may be widely distributed.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the process for setting up a channelconfigured for sourcing, editing, and distributing live video of anevent or associated events, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. As shown, a “one-click setup” is provided in oneimplementation, wherein the channel creator is able to quickly crate andtitle a channel (e.g., Gezi Park), as identified by block 610. FIG. 7provides an interface allowing a channel creator to being the process ofcreating a channel by activating the “create channel” interface 710, asimplemented through FIG. 6.

Once the channel is created, the channel creator is able to eithercontribute directly to the channel with video content by activatinginterface block 620, or invite other contributors via interface block630. For instance, a potential video feed is identified by a channelcreator or through automated filtering, wherein the video feed isrelated to the topic and is associated with a potential firstcontributor. A request is pushed to the first contributor to join thechannel to send an invitation to join the channel, as implemented byblocks 640 and 650. An acceptance of the request is received, and arequest for authorization to capture and control the live videoassociated with the first contributor is sent to the device associatedwith the first contributor. Thereafter, the live video feed is receivedfrom the device associated with the first contributor over the channel.

In one embodiment, the invitation is provided by inviting third partysocial media users through block 650, such as, Twitter users. As anexample, the channel creator provides Twitter information related to aTwitter user identified for joining, and an @message is delivered to theuser requesting him or her to join the channel. The @message includes alink back to the back-end server supporting the channel. That link isused to join the channel. In that manner, those electing to join may beauthenticated using corresponding social media. For instance, if aTwitter user decides to join the channel, embodiments of the presentinvention are able to leverage the authentication mechanisms of theTwitter servers to authenticate the joining contributor.

In another embodiment, the channel is given an identifier or key, suchas, key 760XX. The channel creator may give the channel key to anotherindividual in a request to join. That individual would then go to thechannel to register (e.g., through a link), and present the channel keyupon registration as a manner of authentication.

For instance, FIG. 7 is an illustration of the process used for acontributor to join a channel, wherein the channel provides theframework for the sourcing, editing, and distribution of multiple livevideo feeds of an event or associated events. As shown, the interface700 is presented to the potential party wishing to join the channel as acontributor. In one implementation, the potential party, through a linkis brought to the back-end server supporting one or more channels. Thepotential party is asked whether or not he or she wants to accept theinvitation by clicking on the “Accept Invite” button, if the party ispart of a social network, which may also provide authentication of theparty. On the other hand, the party is able to enter in a correspondinga channel key, as previously described.

The channel creator is able to source and edit multiple video feeds.Thereafter, the edited content may be shared. For example, FIG. 8 is anillustration of multiple live video streams or feeds from contributorsviewing a live event or associated events, and the selection of one ofthe feeds for distribution in a dashboard interface used by the channelcreator, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 8, one or more live video feeds are provided bycontributors to the corresponding channel (e.g., “Live from Damascus”).For instance, three contributors, each streaming live video, areparticipating in the channel. The live video feed 810 is selected forprominent display over the channel to the public. A live switchinghighlight panel is used so that the channel creator knows which feed iscurrently selected for distribution. That is, video feed 810 is providedin the window 820 suitable for broadcast. In addition, other informationmay be provided to generate an edited, and mixed video suitable forbroadcast or distribution.

Also shown in FIG. 8 is a communication interface 800 (e.g., chatwindow, video and audio interface, text, SMS, etc.). The communicationinterface 800 is used by the channel creator to provide instructions toeach of the contributors, either collectively in one or more groups, orindividually. In addition, in embodiments, the communication interfacemay provide one-way, two-way, or multi-way communication between thechannel creator and each of the contributors. Additionally, thecommunication interface may be configured as a one-to-many interface ora more private one-to-one interface.

For instance, as shown in FIG. 8, three contributors are contributinglive video. A first contributor is streaming a live video feed A viadevice 850 back to the channel. A second contributor is streaming a livevideo feed B via device 830 back to the channel. Also, a thirdcontributor is streaming a live video feed C via device 840 back to thechannel.

An editing panel, or switching panel 860 is provided in interface 800that is configured to switch between any of the videos streamed to thechannel. At this particular moment in time, video C is selected as thestreaming live video contained within the edited video. As such, at thatparticular moment in time, if the edited video is viewed, that viewerwould see video C. Window 820 shows the edited video comparing video Cat that particular moment in time.

In addition, window 875 illustrates a communication channel between thechannel creator and one or more contributors. As indicated in block 870,window 875 includes a chat module for providing directions to thecontributors (e.g., move camera view to the left for contributor 1,etc.). The communication channel includes any suitable means forcommunicating direction, and may be comprised of one or more components,such as, audio, video, text, etc.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of multiple witnesses to a single, live eventand the sourcing, editing, distribution, and storing of the live videofeeds of contributing witnesses, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The use case provided in FIG. 9 is forillustration purposes only. As shown in FIG. 9, an event includes afootball game (e.g., college football game) that is viewed by anaudience. One or more attendees are identified as potential parties(e.g., an affinity group) possibly interested in joining a channel thatis distributing fan viewpoints of a football game. A channel creator mayhave requested that certain attendees join a channel. For instance, thecontributors 910A-N have joined the channel. The contributors may havebeen selected because their geographic location matches that of thestadium.

The channel creator may select between the live video feeds 910A-N basedon where the action of the game is. For instance, if the play of thegame is concentrated in the end zone 920, then the channel creator orfiltering criteria may select video feed 910D as the one that is beingshown to the public over the channel.

In another embodiment, crowd sourcing is used to collect and filter outthe one or more live video feeds to generate an edited video suitablefor distribution. That is, crowd sourcing is used to determine thesourcing of contributors and/or the editing between differentcontributor content. For example, crowd sourcing may be used to identifywhich live video feeds are collected in a channel, in relation to anevent, associated events, or events related to a theme. The crowdsourcing may be all members of the channel creation service, or one ormore third party social media services. The identification may beperformed using filter criteria on metadata associated with each of thecollected live video streams. Thereafter, crowd sourcing may be utilizedfor determining which editing processes are then used to generate theedited video suitable for distribution. As an example, up-voting betweeneach of the contributed video feeds is used for ranking. In the scenarioposed by FIG. 9, wherein different contributors are capturing videofeeds of a football game, the crowd sourcing may determine that one ofthe video feeds is particularly interesting (e.g., showing a dancingmascot, or continuously showing the opposing team members at variouspoints in the game). As such, crowd sourcing may be used to furtherselect and filter between the plurality of video feeds provided by thecontributors, so that one video feed is selected at one time, anothervideo feed is selected at another time, etc. to generate an edited videofeed suitable for distribution.

In another embodiment, crowd sourcing is implemented to determinesourcing of contributors.

FIG. 10 is an information flow diagram 1000 illustrating a plurality oflive and stored video feeds that is edited to generate an edited video,in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. For instance, aboveline A-A, live video streams 910A, 910B, and 910N are shown. Inaddition, the live video streams are collected by the channel atdifferent start and possibly stop times. For instance, according to timeline 1020, live video feed 910A (e.g., A-1, A-2, and A-3) is startedafter live video feed 910B (e.g., B-1 . . . B-N). In addition, livevideo feed A may stop at time t-1, whereas live video feed 910B does notend for a considerable amount of time. In addition, live video feed 910N(e.g., N-1 . . . N-N) also begins after video feeds 910A and 910B. Videofeeds 910A, 910B and 910N are captured by attendees of the collegefootball game, first introduced in FIG. 9. Additionally, stored video1030 and 1040 may be available to the channel.

Also shown in FIG. 10 is the edited video 1010 that is streamed. Theedited video includes live video, stored video, and additional or othercontent. For instance, in the first sequence block, supplemental contentis included, such as, a title page, or introductory video, which may bestored video 1030. In the second sequence block 1012, video B-1 fromvideo feed 910B is switched for inclusion. The third sequence block 1013includes video A-1, and the fourth sequence block 1014 includes videoA-2. The fifth sequence block includes stored video 1015, which may bestored video 1030 or stored video 1040, or contain other content. In oneembodiment, the stored video is a replay of previously captured video(e.g., video stream A-2). For instance, video stream A-2 is selected tostream live video of the game when a touchdown occurs. The sixthsequence block includes video N-3, and the seventh sequence blockincludes video N-4.

The stored video in sequence block 1015 may comprise a replay sequenceof video stream A-2, such as, the last 30 seconds, so that the touchdownplay is replayed to the viewers.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of multiple editors sharing the raw videofootage as collected by a channel creator, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure. For instance, a channel creator isable to collect a plurality of streamed live video feeds. In oneembodiment, the raw footage that is stored is also provided to one ormore editors (e.g., editor-1, editor-2, and editor-3). That is, insteadof having only a single editor in association with the channel creator,multiple editors have access to the raw footage for purposes ofpost-production editing. Further, the editors have access to the final,edited video that was previously streamed. As such, the channel creatorreleases the raw footage as well as edited video to requesting editors.In that manner, additional edited videos are produced from the capturedand streamed live video by individuals other than the channel creator.

Thus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, systems andmethods are described providing for the sourcing, editing, directing,and distributing of video streams related to an event, associatedevents, and/or events tied to a theme.

While the foregoing disclosure sets forth various embodiments usingspecific block diagrams, flowcharts, and examples, each block diagramcomponent, flowchart step, operation, and/or component described and/orillustrated herein may be implemented, individually and/or collectively,using a wide range of hardware, software, or firmware (or anycombination thereof) configurations. In addition, any disclosure ofcomponents contained within other components should be considered asexamples because many other architectures can be implemented to achievethe same functionality.

The process parameters and sequence of steps described and/orillustrated herein are given by way of example only and can be varied asdesired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or describedherein may be shown or discussed in a particular order, these steps donot necessarily need to be performed in the order illustrated ordiscussed. The various example methods described and/or illustratedherein may also omit one or more of the steps described or illustratedherein or include additional steps in addition to those disclosed.

While various embodiments have been described and/or illustrated hereinin the context of fully functional computing systems, one or more ofthese example embodiments may be distributed as a program product in avariety of forms, regardless of the particular type of computer-readablemedia used to actually carry out the distribution. The embodimentsdisclosed herein may also be implemented using software modules thatperform certain tasks. These software modules may include script, batch,or other executable files that may be stored on a computer-readablestorage medium or in a computing system. These software modules mayconfigure a computing system to perform one or more of the exampleembodiments disclosed herein. One or more of the software modulesdisclosed herein may be implemented in a cloud computing environment.Cloud computing environments may provide various services andapplications via the Internet. These cloud-based services (e.g.,software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as aservice, etc.) may be accessible through a Web browser or other remoteinterface. Various functions described herein may be provided through aremote desktop environment or any other cloud-based computingenvironment.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention andvarious embodiments with various modifications as may be suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Embodiments according to the present disclosure are thus described.While the present disclosure has been described in particularembodiments, it should be appreciated that the disclosure should not beconstrued as limited by such embodiments, but rather construed accordingto the below claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A method for video collaboration, comprising:identifying a plurality of candidate users, wherein each of theplurality of candidate users is associated with a respective socialmedia account; identifying potential contributing users from theplurality of candidate users based on content associated with thecandidate users' social media accounts; sending collaborationinvitations to the contributing users; receiving a plurality of videosfrom one or more of the contributing users; editing one or more videosof the plurality of videos from the one or more contributing users;aggregating the edited one or more edited videos to generate anaggregate video; and transmitting the aggregate video.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the collaboration invitations comprise anauthentication link, and wherein activating the authentication linkcauses the respective social media accounts of the contributing users tobe authenticated.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising creatinga video distribution channel, wherein said transmitting the aggregatevideo comprises transmitting the aggregate video over the videodistribution channel, and wherein activating the authentication linkfurther causes the respective contributing user to join the videodistribution channel.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thecollaboration invitations comprise a shared channel key forauthenticating the contributing users.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid editing comprises adding at least one of an overlay, an image, agraphic, and an animation to the first video.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the content comprises at least one of a social media groupmembership, a blog post, a comment, and a message.
 7. A method for videocollaboration comprising: identifying a plurality of candidate users,wherein each candidate user of the plurality of candidate users isassociated with a respective social media account; determining if theplurality of candidate users are located within a geographic area toidentify contributing users based on a location associated with thecandidate users; sending collaboration invitations to the contributingusers; receiving a plurality of videos from one or more of thecontributing users; editing one or more videos of the plurality ofvideos from the one or more contributing users; aggregating the editedone or more edited videos to generate an aggregate video; andtransmitting the aggregate video.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising receiving a notification indicating that one or morecandidate users of the plurality of candidate users are currentlylocated within the geographic area.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe notification is received from a social network that maintains therespective social media account of the contributing users.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the respective social media accounts of thecontributing users satisfy at least one criteria related to a topic, andwherein the topic is associated with the geographic area on the socialnetwork.
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein the collaborationinvitations comprise an authentication link, and wherein activating theauthentication link causes the respective social media accounts of thecontributing users to be authenticated.
 12. The method of claim 11,further comprising creating a video distribution channel, wherein saidtransmitting the aggregate video comprises transmitting the aggregatevideo over the video distribution channel, and wherein activating theauthentication link further causes the respective contributing user tojoin the video distribution channel.
 13. The method of claim 7, whereinthe collaboration invitations comprise a shared channel key forauthenticating the contributing users.
 14. The method of claim 7,wherein said editing comprises adding at least one of an overlay, animage, a graphic, and an animation to the first video.
 15. A method forvideo collaboration, comprising: creating a distribution channel fordistributing a broadcast window, wherein the broadcast window comprisesa prominent portion, a secondary portion, and a common communicationinterface; sending collaboration invitations to a plurality of socialmedia accounts; receiving a plurality of user video streams from thesocial media accounts; selecting a first user video stream of theplurality of user video streams as a viewing stream; displaying theviewing stream in the prominent portion of the broadcast window;displaying one or more user video streams of the plurality of user videostreams in the secondary portion of the broadcast window, whereinselecting a second user video stream displayed in the secondary portionof the broadcast window causes the second video stream to be selected asthe viewing stream and to be displayed in the prominent portion of thebroadcast window; displaying the common communication interface in thebroadcast window, wherein the common communication interface isconfigured to receive and display messages from the plurality of socialmedia accounts; and broadcasting the broadcast window over thedistribution channel.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thecollaboration invitations comprise an authentication link, and whereinactivating the authentication link causes the respective social mediaaccounts to be authenticated.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinactivating the authentication link further causes the respective user tojoin the distribution channel.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein thecollaboration invitations comprise a shared channel key forauthenticating users.
 19. The method of claim 15, further comprisingediting the viewing stream by displaying at least one of an overlay, animage, a graphic, and an animation in the viewing stream whenbroadcasting the broadcast window over the distribution channel.
 20. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the social media accounts satisfy at leastone criteria related to at least one of a topic and a geographic area.